Cinque Terre National Park

Cinque Terre: Trail Closures, Crowds, and Why It Is Still Worth It

The Via dell’Amore, the most photographed stretch of Ligurian coastline, reopened on Valentine’s Day 2025 after being closed since a 2012 landslide destroyed it. The full 950-metre path between Riomaggiore and Manarola is restored and accessible again – though from March 2026 access is bundled into the standard Cinque Terre Card rather than sold as a separate ticket. Its return is not a quiet detail. It is the defining coastal path of Italian tourism, and for over a decade people have been asking when it would reopen.

The broader trail situation is more complicated. The Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) that connects all five villages has ongoing closures: as of mid-2026, the section between Manarola and Corniglia is closed indefinitely due to landslide instability. Only the first 300 metres from the Manarola side are open. This is not a temporary situation with a clear reopening date. The sections between Corniglia and Vernazza and Vernazza to Monterosso remain the most reliable and scenic; the Corniglia to Vernazza walk (about 90 minutes) and the Vernazza to Monterosso stretch (about 90 minutes, harder, with serious elevation) are the ones to plan around.

The Five Villages, Honestly

Monterosso al Mare is the largest and most developed, with a proper sandy beach, working supermarket, multiple hotels, and limited parking. The old town on one side of the promontory is genuinely charming; the newer beach section is ordinary Italian resort. This is the best base if you want to stay more than one night.

Vernazza is the most celebrated village and consequently the most crowded. The castle above the harbour rewards the climb for the view down. Vernazza was badly damaged in flooding in 2011 and restored remarkably quickly. The Nessun Dorma bar above the harbour has an extraordinary view and a queue to match.

Corniglia sits at the top of a cliff rather than at the water, reached by 382 steps from the train station or by shuttle bus. Fewer tourists make it up, which means quieter streets and better restaurant prices. The trade-off is that the swimming beach is not directly accessible.

Manarola has the classic stacked-houses-above-harbour view that appears in most Cinque Terre photography. Harbour swimming from the rocks is excellent. The reopened Via dell’Amore begins here.

Riomaggiore is the southernmost village and first stop from La Spezia, which makes it the most accessible and the most day-tripper-dense. The evening, after the trains stop running visitors back, is when it becomes its actual self.

Trails and Cards

The Sentiero Azzurro trail system requires a Cinque Terre Card (around 7.50 to 16 euros depending on type). The card also covers unlimited train travel between the five villages and La Spezia. Given that the train is the most efficient way to move between villages and the card is required for trails anyway, it is straightforwardly the right purchase. From March 2026, the Via dell’Amore is included.

The upper trails (Sentiero Rosso and variants) are less walked, less subject to closure, and offer views from 300 to 400 metres above sea level that reveal the whole coastline at once rather than just the village you are standing in. These are the routes you will have largely to yourself even in peak season.

Food

Pesto alla Genovese from the Ligurian coast is noticeably different from what you get inland: the basil is smaller-leafed and more aromatic, the olive oil is distinctly local, and the result on trofie pasta is better than almost anything sold as pesto outside the region. Anchovies from Monterosso preserved in salt rather than oil are a regional specialty worth seeking. Sciacchetra, the local sweet wine made from partially dried grapes, is expensive, rare, and worth the small glass after a meal if a restaurant carries it.

Skip most restaurants immediately adjacent to the Vernazza and Manarola harbours – they charge for the view, not the cooking. Walk one street back and prices drop. Corniglia’s trattorias are generally cheaper and more consistently good.

Getting There

La Spezia is the main gateway, 10 minutes by train from Riomaggiore and well connected to Genoa, Pisa, and Florence. Trains between La Spezia and the villages run frequently; the journey between adjacent villages takes under five minutes.

Avoid July and August weekends without exception. Vernazza has a permanent population of under 1,000 people. A single cruise ship excursion can fill the main piazza. May, early June, September, and October are significantly more pleasant. October’s grape harvest on the Sciacchetra terraced vineyards is one of the better reasons to come then specifically.

Staying overnight changes everything. After 5pm the day-trippers largely leave. You have the evening streets and early morning with a fraction of the crowd.